Bee's Knees Cafe

I created this rendered image in January of 1999 - it was the first full-blown 3D scene I'd built in quite awhile. The original rendering's in a much higher resolution than we see here - 3600 by 5700 pixels. It's now available as a 16 x 20" poster from my online store.

While it's true that I was thinking back to the set of Diner objects we sold through Terra Nova Development, years ago, everything here but the stack of plates is new. That's actually my toaster there on the shelf!

Almost every surface in this scene uses one or more algorithmic textures, and plenty of image maps; textures are a real strength of Impulse's Imagine, the renderer I used.

    This "Bee's Knees Cafe" is an imaginary diner, but it incorporates a lot of real details like vintage packaging, postcards, photographs, and fruit crate labels. That's actually my toaster there on the shelf!

    This image is available as a poster, and as an archival print, from the Retropolis site.